Sensex rises over 150 pts; Nifty hits 11,300

TIL Desk/Business/Mumbai/ Smashing all previous records, the BSE Sensex rose by over 150 points to 37,496.80, while the Nifty hit a fresh high of 11,300 in opening trade ahead of RBI policy meet beginning today. The 30-share index spurted 159.95 points, or 0.42 per cent, to an all-time high of 37,496.80.

The gauge had gained 840.48 points in the previous five record-setting sessions and closed at an all-time high of 37,336.85 points in Friday’s session. The broader NSE Nifty too hit a new high by rising 31 points, or 0.27 per cent, to 11,309.35.

Trading sentiment remained bullish backed by sustained capital inflows by foreign funds and widespread buying by retail investors, driven by strong earnings by some more bluechip companies that helped key indices to scale new peaks, brokers said.

All eyes will be on Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meet to decide on its policy rates.  The Reserve Bank is likely to maintain status quo on the key interest rate on Wednesday notwithstanding elevated oil prices and government’s announcement to steeply hike minimum support price for kharif crops, experts said.